Single use mobility aids such as canes, crutches, walking sticks and the like, provide support in strictly delimited situations. No known single mobility aid provides versatile support in all situations that would be commonly encountered by a mobility limited individual. For example, a cane supports someone with a disability on one side, but if they lean too far to the other side, they can lose their balance and fall. Using two canes solves this particular problem, but two canes monopolize both hands because they are always needed for support. When one desires to have one hand free, one is forced to hold two canes in one hand (not always the safest way to support), and one is liable to drop both canes, creating the problem of having to retrieve the dropped canes when already in a diminished physical capacity.
Some attempts to create two-in-one cane solutions include U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,075 to Hoffman comprising rounded (crook, hook) handle canes one of which forms an outer shell which opens longitudinally of the cane's shaft axis to form two halves so that an inner cane may be removed from inside.
In U.S. Pat. No. 1,375,912 to Huddle an inner cane slides axially inside a hollow shaft and there is provided a handle cover for receiving over a handle of the inner cane and connecting to the hollow shaft at its top to form a single cane. As in the Hoffman, in Huddle there is thus provided two canes, one of which is hollow, that can be arranged to collectively form a single cane or which can be separated so as to have two canes.
In US Publication 20060118154 to David is provided an apparatus generally forming a crutch from which a hand-held cane may be formed by rearranging in a cane configuration only some of the parts of the apparatus.
In U.S. Pat. No. 7,007,704 to Luckstead is an assembly comprising a pair of canes which can be connected in side-by-side fashion for use as a single cane or which can be detached or separated so that one of the cane can be used in each hand of the user.